Nice start for hungry Dixon

LONG BEACH - Scott Dixon won the IndyCar series title in 2003 and 2008. The past three years he has finished second, third and third. But in the first two races of each of those years he has gotten off to finishes of 16th and 15th, sixth and 18th, and 16th and second, respectively.

So even though Dixon would have loved to have won either of the first two races this season, he is nevertheless pleased to have finished second at both St. Petersburg, Fla., and Birmingham, Ala., here in 2012.

That puts him two points behind series points leader Helio Castroneves, who won at St. Petersburg.

"Pretty happy," said Dixon, of Team Target Chip Ganassi. "We're a lot better off then we have been the last couple of years, for sure.

"I think two years ago, (coming into) Long Beach I was 20th in points and I'm probably, I don't know, 40 or 50 points better off than I have been the last two years. So it's nice from that fact."

But, like any champion, he is not completely satisfied.

"We've led the most laps the first two races and got those bonus points, but we haven't been able to capitalize on that and actually get the victory," said Dixon, of New Zealand. "I think St. Pete, I was happy with the result; it was the best we had. Helio definitely had a better run, better speed.

"Barber, I was pretty bummed about. I think we stepped on our feet a little bit there, fumbled for a lap ... and then having a bit of a fumble in the pits cost us the win there. That was frustrating, but you have to take them as they come.

It's going to go your way sometimes. As long as we keep being there and pushing at the front, hopefully we can turn one of these into a win here shortly."

Dixon received two bonus points at each of the two races for most laps led. He had the 10th-best practice time of 1:20.8931 on Friday.

A news conference was held Friday announcing this year's inductees into the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America, including Danny Sullivan, who raced 12 years in IndyCar and won the Indianapolis 500 in 1985.

Sullivan, 62, won the series title in 1988.

Sullivan had 17 IndyCar wins, including one in Long Beach in 1992. He was happy about his induction.

"When I found out I was going to be inducted, it kind of blew me away," he said.

Don "The Snake" Prudhomme and Parnelli Jones were on hand at the news conference. Both were inducted in the early '90s.

The oddsmakers at MGM Grand in Las Vegas have established Will Power as a 9-5 favorite to win Sunday's IndyCar race. His Penske Racing teammate, Helio Castroneves, is next at 2-1 and Dixon is listed at 5-2.

However, those odds were made before Chevrolet on Thursday announced it had to make engine changes in all 11 of its cars, incurring a 10-position grid penalty for each. Power and Castroneves both have Chevy engines, Dixon has a Honda.

Power on Friday had just the 13th-best practice time of 1:31.2195.

Interestingly, those odds remained the same even after the MGM Grand learned of the grid penalties.

Sebastien Bourdais does not have a Chevy engine, so he was not part of the mass engine pull. But he does run a Lotus engine and it had an unapproved pull after the April 1 race at Barber Motorsports Park, a race in which he finished ninth after starting 17th.

"If it was up to me, I would have left the engine in for sure," said Bourdais, who will also sustain a 10-position grid penalty Sunday. "But it was not my call."

Bourdais, who won three times at Long Beach during his Champ Car days, does not like that the drivers are suffering these penalties.

"What is the fairness of penalizing the driver when he obviously has done nothing wrong," he said.

Team Penske's Helio Castroneves, who had the ninth-fastest practice time of 1:20.8696 Friday, was bummed that the weather affected the fun fans typically have at the Grand Prix circuit.

"It was a shame there was rain most of the day," he said. "I feel bad for the fans that came out here to Long Beach. Hopefully, things will improve and the weather will be better tomorrow so we get a chance to put on a good show in practice and qualifying."

"It looked more like an Indiana day in May here in Long Beach," said Carpenter, an Indiana native. "It was thunderstorms and heavy rain. And it's cold here, too. Boy, I didn't think they had that in California."

Carpenter had the 14th-best IndyCar practice time of 1:22.7224.

Two rookies had the top practice times in Indy Lights, the main support series for IndyCar.

Tristan Vautler had a best time of 1:18.2620 with Oliver Webb coming in with a top lap of 1:18.4657.

Indy Lights will have a morning practice today at 8 and then qualifying at 12:55p.m.

Johnny O'Connell is a Long Beach racing veteran. Sports cars, open wheel, it doesn't really matter. He's won in a Corvette, he's wrecked an Indy Lights ride, and he's watched as the course has changed slightly over the years.

"For a street circuit, it lends itself pretty well to racing," said the Georgia native, who will return to the 1.96-mile course this weekend in the GT class of the Pirelli World Challenge.

O'Connell said he generally runs well from the start-finish line down Shoreline Drive, past the fountain, around the Aquarium of the Pacific and into turn 7, where the circuit heads north on Pine Avenue.

"The rest of the track, I keep my fingers crossed," he said.

Hall of Fame Power the favorite Bourdais miffed Castroneves feels for fans Is this Indiana? Indy Lights - Robert Morales Course study - David Felton